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According to the CCTV report, researchers from the State Key Laboratory of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have spent decades honing their skills and collaborated with various units to develop the domestically produced T1000 carbon fiber, which is now in large-scale mass production. However, this is not our strongest carbon fiber; we have already achieved T1100-level high-performance carbon fiber, firmly securing the world's top position.

Looking back, the path has been truly arduous. In the early years, carbon fiber was basically monopolized by the United States and Japan, who even established an agreement called the "Wassenaar Arrangement," explicitly stipulating that high-quality carbon fibers above T800 levels must not be exported, especially to us.

The U.S. itself has a regulation called the Export Administration Regulations, which lists high-performance carbon fiber on the "sensitive items" list. Want to buy it? You need to go through layers of approval and look at people's faces. Especially around 2005, the restrictions were particularly strict, leading China to face a situation of "no rice to cook" when developing aerospace and high-end defense equipment, which was extremely frustrating.

Moreover, they not only don't sell finished products but also keep the auxiliary materials used for production, such as oils and sizing agents, hidden away, fearing that we might learn how to make them ourselves. Therefore, core technologies cannot be bought; they can only be conquered through persistent efforts.

Why do the US and Japan tightly guard high-performance carbon fiber, while China is determined to overcome it at all costs?

In short, carbon fiber is the "six-sided warrior" in the field of materials. It is light and tough, with extremely high strength, heat resistance, corrosion resistance, and deformation resistance, while also being conductive and thermally conductive, and easy to process. The composite materials made from it are the "dream material" in the fields of aerospace and national defense.

Look at the J-20 and J-35 in the sky; without carbon fiber, they would be impossible to operate. In a sense, without carbon fiber, China's modern national defense and space industry could not have moved forward.

Master Shi Changxu, one of the pioneers of the "Two Bombs and One Satellite" project, saw clearly that carbon fiber was not just an ordinary material, but a strategic treasure related to national security.

As early as 2001, the old man personally led a survey team, wrote a strategic report, and pointed out the direction for us to tackle the problem. In 2005, the Shanxi Institute of Coal Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences took on the task of overcoming the tough challenge of the aerospace-grade T300 carbon fiber.

It only took three years for China to achieve stable mass production of the aerospace-grade T300 carbon fiber. Within 15 years, China has now achieved T1100-level high-performance carbon fiber.

Carbon fiber is really technically challenging. China has taken 20 years to achieve such results, which is truly a world miracle. Think about it, each small strand of carbon fiber contains as many as 12,000 individual filaments. How fine are these filaments? Their diameter is less than one-tenth of a hair, almost invisible to the naked eye. But don't let its fineness fool you—its strength is astonishingly great, with high tensile strength and resistance to breaking.

Take the T1000-level carbon fiber reported by CCTV, for example. A one-meter-long fiber weighs only 0.5 grams, almost like a feather, yet it can withstand over 6,600 megapascals of tensile strength. In more understandable terms: this thin strand can lift about 200 kilograms without breaking, which is 7 to 8 times stronger than steel wire of the same thickness. It can be said that every step, from raw material preparation, spinning process to high-temperature carbonization, is a technical challenge.

Who would have thought that within just 15 years, we directly jumped from T300 to T1100 level. How strong is T1100? Its tensile strength can reach 7,000 megapascals. Let me put it in simple terms: a carbon fiber the thickness of a toothpick can easily lift a small car; take a small bunch weighing only 0.3 grams, theoretically, it can pull up three adults.

With such extraordinary performance, it is naturally used in the most advanced areas. The structural components of the J-20 and J-35, as well as the upcoming J-36 and J-50 sixth-generation fighters, all depend on it. Using this material allows the aircraft body to be significantly lighter, fly farther, carry more weapons, and rockets can carry more fuel. In short, without high-performance carbon fiber, the performance of these national treasures would be greatly reduced.

Now, we are no longer the passive ones who were once restricted. China now accounts for 43% of the global carbon fiber output, nearly driving American and Japanese carbon fiber companies to bankruptcy. And in terms of quality, we have achieved the world's best. Now, China has even banned the export of carbon fiber to Japan for military purposes, which is a way to get revenge for the past.

Even better, there are now three domestic companies capable of stable mass production of T1100-level carbon fiber. As production capacity continues to increase, costs will gradually decrease, allowing it to be widely adopted in civilian applications. Especially in new energy vehicles, if carbon fiber components are used extensively, the vehicles will be lighter, safer, more energy-efficient, and more durable.

Moreover, the pace of China's technological breakthroughs never stops at "catching up." Currently, researchers are already looking further ahead, and have started working on T2000-level carbon fiber. Knowing that overseas giants are also exploring the edges of T2000, our steps are not slow at all.

From the days when we had to rely on others for even T300, to now leading globally with T1100 and steadily advancing toward T2000, all of this is the result of the hard work of scientific researchers. Core technologies are never obtained by waiting or buying. The more others try to choke us, the more determined we are to strive, turning the impossible into possible. This is the hard power of Chinese technology.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7595787006752391707/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.